Barahona Province
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| Location | |
|---|---|
 Barahona in the Dominican Republic |
|
| Information | |
| Country |  Dominican Republic |
| Capital city | Santa Cruz de Barahona |
| Establishment date | 1881 |
| Area - Total - % of country - Ranked |
1,739.38 km² 3.6% 12 |
| Population - Total (2002) - Density |
179,239 (15) 103.0 inhab/km² (18) |
| Time zone | UTC-4 |
| ISO 3166-2: | DO-04 |
| Politics and administration | |
| Members in Congress |
1 Senator 7 Deputies |
| Municipalities Municipal Districts |
11 11 |
| Provinces of the Dominican Republic | |
Barahona is a Dominican province; it is located in the southwestern part of the country. Its capital city is Santa Cruz de Barahona.
It was created as a Maritime District (a special administrative category that has been abandoned) on 12 September 1881. The 1907 Dominican Constitution changed its status to province.[1]
Contents |
[change] Location
Barahona is bordered to the northwest by the province of Baoruco, to the northeast by Azua, to the west by the Independencia province. The Pedernales province is to the southwest and south of Barahona and the Caribbean Sea is to the east.
[change] Origin of name
The province takes the name from its capital city, Santa Cruz de Barahona. Barahona is a Spanish last name, and it seems that a Spanish colonist with that name lived in the region.[2]
[change] History
The province was part of the old Azua. It was created as a Maritime District (a special administrative category that has been abandoned) on 12 September, 1881 with the municipalities of Santa Cruz de Barahona, Cabral, Duvergé, Enriquillo and Neiba. The 1907 Dominican Constitution change its status to province.
Two new provinces were created from the original province of Barahona. The Baoruco Province was created in 1943 and then the Pedernales Province in 1957.
[change] Municipalities
Barahona has a total area of 1,739.38 km².[3] It has 3.6% of the area of the Dominican Republic and it is ranked as the 12th (out of 31 plus the National District) largest province.
There are 11 municipalities and 11 municipal districts in the province.
The municipalities are:
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| The municipal districts are: | |
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[change] Population
| Population Growth | |
|---|---|
| Year | Population |
| 1920 | 48,120 |
| 1935 | 46,130 |
| 1950¹ | 62,166 |
| 1960² | 80,030 |
| 1970 | 111,162 |
| 1981 | 141,313 |
| 1993 | 164,835 |
| 2002 | 179,239 |
| Note 1: Without Baoruco Province Note 2: Without Pedernales Province |
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In 2002 (last national census), there were 179,239 people living in the Barahona province, and 134,714 (75.16%) living in towns and cities. The population density was 103 persons/km².[4]
[change] Geography
There are two important regions in the province: the valley of the Yaque del Sur River, in the north of the province, and the Sierra de Bahoruco ("Bahoruco mountain range"). Because the Sierra de Bahoruco gets to the coast, most of the population lives on the coast or near the Yaque del Sur river.
The eastern part of Sierra de Neiba is in the province and the Sierra Martín García is the limit with the Azua Province, in the northeast.
The valley of the Yaque del Sur River is an important farming centre in the southwest because people here uses the water of the river to grow different crops, mainly plantain and sugar cane. The Rincón lake is in this valley; fishing is an important activity in this lake.
The Sierra de Bahoruco is in the rest of the province (south, center and west); the part of the Sierra de Bahoruco that is in the province of Barahona is called Bahoruco Oriental (Eastern Bahoruco) because it is different from the rest of the mountain range. While pines are common in the Sierra de Bahoruco, they are not common in Eastern Bahoruco where there are rainforests because those mountains, and the province, have the Caribbean Sea to the east and winds bring a lot of water that falls on the mountains.
The highest mountain in Eastern Bahoruco is Pie de Palo (1,603 m). Other high mountains are Trocha de Pey (1,476 m), La Torre (1,455 m) and Loma Remigio (1,287 m).
The most important river of the province is Yaque del Sur. Other rivers are Nizaíto (23 km long) and Bahoruco (14 km). The San Rafael river is only 3 km long but is visited by many persons during summer and part of its water is taken to the city of Barahona.
[change] Economy
The main economic activity of the province is agriculture; the main products are coffee in the mountains and plantain and sugar cane in the valley of the Yaque del Sur river.
Other important economic activities are industry (sugar and textiles) in Santa Cruz de Barahona and fishing along the Caribbean coast.
[change] Other Websites
[change] References
- ↑ Féliz, Werner D. (2004). División Político-Territorial Dominicana 1944-2004 (in Spanish). Santo Domingo: CONAU.
- ↑ López Reyes, Oscar (1999). Historia del desarrollo de Barahona: Narración e interpretación (in Spanish). Santo Domingo: Mediabyte.
- ↑ Listado de Códigos de Provincias, Municipio y Distritos Municipales, Oficina Nacional de Estadistica
- ↑ Censo 2002 de Población y Vivienda, Oficina Nacional de Estadistica
| Provinces of the Dominican Republic |  |
|---|---|
| Azua • Baoruco • Barahona • Dajabón • Duarte • Elías Piña • El Seibo • Espaillat • Hato Mayor • Hermanas Mirabal • Independencia • La Altagracia • La Romana • La Vega • María Trinidad Sánchez • Monseñor Nouel • Monte Cristi • Monte Plata • Pedernales • Peravia • Puerto Plata • Samaná • Sánchez Ramírez • San Cristóbal • San José de Ocoa • San Juan • San Pedro de Macorís • Santiago • Santiago Rodríguez • Santo Domingo • Valverde • Distrito Nacional | |
